MyVoice: Views of our readers 16th August 2023

Govts have failed to maintain spirit of harmony

Yes, there is no dispute about our primary identity which is Indian. The President’s call to maintain the spirit of harmony is timely and deserves to be followed. But have the successive governments since 76 years of Independence laid stress on this aspect? Absolutely no, because by that time our Indian society was divided by caste, creed, language, region, family, profession etc. None made a serious effort to set the record straight as the British rule eradicated the democratic principles under which our history was marked. In addition there have been several amendments to the Constitution of India as a result of which our country is in a chaotic mess and is still a developing country. If you talk of patriotism you are intolerant while the minorities get away with whatever they talk in the name of freedom of expression and secularism. The national spirit is conspicuously absent nowadays and that is why there are many sections within the country who are advocating secessionist ideologies, etc. Our President has rightly pointed out about the Indian, as a primary identity.

Govardhana Myneedu, Vijayawada

Time to pay heed to nature’s warning

It refers to “48 killed in Himachal rains, 14 of them in landslides”. For a few days it looked like the Monsoon had stopped but it was not to be. Nature has literally created havoc in Himachal Pradesh this year as the monsoon is not stopping at all. Nature has been giving us warnings every now and then but we seem to be too arrogant to heed to those warnings. Need of the hour is to have a deep introspection by all stakeholders, including state, central government and all local bodies in the hill state. Right from Panchayat levels all stringent rules must be followed and regular monitoring should be done to ensure that the environment is protected as much as possible. We cannot afford to play with Himalayan ecology in the name of encouraging tourism.

Bal Govind, Noida

May Asha croon for several more years

On the occasion of the 90th birthday of sweet and sonorous singer Asha Bhosle, PME Entertainment organised celebratory concert in Dubai. Hans India spared sufficient space to announce this news on August 11. Asha’s singing career spanned about eight decades right from her childhood similar to her sibling sister another legendary Lata Mangeshkar. There are thousands of songs of AB dancing on the tongues of her fans. When Lata refused to sing for a co-actress composed by O P Nayyar, he took a decision that he would not make any song with her and all his female songs went in favour of Asha. Movie personalities speculated that AB was emotionally involved with OPN. Let her luscious and aromatic tone travels further.

N Ramalakshmi, Secunderabad

It needs TS govt to fix issues at OU

A report deplored the present state of Osmania University. It deeply hearts not only the alumni but should heart the founder family members also. Several teaching vacancies have been lying vacant for long, which is directly affecting the grade of university, which is standing on 64 position Present Vice-Chancellor is not allowing the students to put forth their problems, simply deciding within the four-walled office only. Another very important point has been brought to knowledge that the university is collecting heavy fee from ST, SC, BC and Minority students, when the government is allotting funds to teach these financially backward students. A dire responsibility stands on the shoulders of TS government to look into the state of affairs at the university and fix all its issues and help the educationally and financially weaker sections in pursuing higher education, which is the backbone of today’s society.

S M Arif Hussain, Hyderabad

Govts on a high, thriving on excise revenue

Income from liquor sale is looked upon by the governments as a major source of revenue and, hence, not only TS but many other States in the country are pushing this aspect to garner more revenue. It is a pity that these governments are least bothered about the health of people as their sole aim is to generate more income to meet the expenditure on freebies announced in the run-up to the assembly elections. Consumption of liquor is always on the increase not only in TS but all over the country, if not the world. It has become a fad for today’s youth to consume liquor at the drop of a hat as they only need an excuse. This is where the State government is stepping in to encourage people to get ‘drunk’ by opening liquor vends all over. There are many other ways and means to generate more revenue such as reducing corrupt practices in all the departments, increasing fines on erring people in any field of activity, adopting austerity measures on government spending, switching over to consumer-based economy, stopping expenditure on account of distributing freebies, etc. The electorate should see through the game plan and thwart the BRS from damaging the economy of the State.

GovardhanaMyneedu, Vijayawada